Day Three Hundred and Fifteen - Turning Japanese

I am not one for purchasing handbags to match my clothing or even to match the season...in fact, I don't even change my handbags ever really. Generally speaking, I find a cheap and fun bag that I like and then I just use the heck out of it. Eventually it suffers some sort of catastrophic breakdown [usually @ some really inopportune moment] and then I buy a new one. I get a lot of compliments on whatever handbag I'm currently using, so I reckon that I'm doing something right. And yet, even fashion-challenged little old me can see that my current Sportsac knock-off bag in neon colours does not so much match 90% of my clothing - as I tend to wear a lot of red. What I do have [and generally don't wear because I'm not good @ accessorizing] is a few scarves in generally very neutral and pleasing colours/patterns. So today I decided to be uncharacteristically fashionable and I practiced the art of Furoshiki. Furoshiki is something from ancient Japan that is still practiced today [although probably a lot less with the wide availability of reusable bags] - it uses nylon or silk scarves to wrap and carry just about anything. Here is my Furoshiki before tying it up - holding all of my snacks for work [yes, including lychees for extra Asian accent].


And here is it all tied up. Technically the technique I used is Katakake Fukuro. It allows one to hold the bundle on one's shoulder. I found it to be quite jaunty.


I had my doubts when I was doing this. I pictured all of my snacks tumbling out onto the street or in the subway. However, it was remarkable durable, and yet really easy to access when I needed my snacks [because of the material used, the knots are easy to untie]. And I do think it looks cool and more unusual than a standard reusable bag. I will definitely be using this method again. Apparently it can be used to hold large melons or bowling balls [using different techniques of wrapping/tying]. I think it would be a neat-o idea for giving bottles of wine or fancy beers - you could give the scarf as well as the bottles. Fancy. On a less fancy note, Joseph referred to my Furoshiki as my "sack of vittles."